What is the origin of the winter solstice?

1, winter solstice is one of the twenty-four solar terms and one of the most important solar terms. Winter solstice is a solar term divided by astronomy, which was called "short day" and "short day" in ancient times. From winter to the sun, the sun is located at 270 degrees of the Yellow Meridian, and the sun shines almost directly to the Tropic of Capricorn, which has the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. Accordingly, the daytime from winter solstice in the southern hemisphere is the longest in the whole year.

2. The winter solstice is also called the winter festival. According to the traditional calendar of China, five days are the first class, three days are one day or one breath, and a year is divided into twelve days and twelve gases, which are collectively called twenty-four solar terms. This is the solar term used in the study of choosing a day. In the study of choosing a date, auspicious lessons are chosen according to the solar terms of the lunar calendar, which is a combination of the solar calendar and the lunar calendar. The solar calendar refers to twenty-four solar terms (the solar cycle is divided into twelve), and the lunar calendar is a pure month (according to the cycle of the moon). ), the date is1February 22nd or 23rd in the national calendar.

3. The Winter Solstice Festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been passed down to this day. Lu even said that the winter solstice is as big as a year. This shows that the ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice. People think that the winter solstice is a natural transformation of yin and yang and a blessing from heaven. In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was the "Winter Festival", and the government held a congratulatory ceremony called "He Dong", which was a routine festival.

4. There is such a record in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty: "Before and after the winter solstice, gentlemen lived quietly, and officials refused to listen to politics, so they chose auspicious days and then saved trouble." So on this day, the imperial court had a holiday, the army was on standby, the frontier fortress was closed, the business trip was closed, relatives and friends sent meals to each other, visited each other, and had a "quiet" holiday happily.

In Tang and Song Dynasties, the solstice in winter was the day to worship ancestors. On this day, the emperor went to the suburbs to hold a ceremony to worship the gods. On this day, people must worship their parents. There are still some places to celebrate the winter solstice.